First Date
by ANBUShizuka
Summary: Mina is anxious for her first date with Marco and spends the day wondering how much perfection can be in one person. Also known as: "The Reason that Marco is afraid of Camels." (From my AdOPteD!AU)


Mina sat on the front porch railing, desperately trying to concentrate on the book that was assigned for summer reading. It was early August and most kids and teens were preparing to go to school again. Mina, however, was waiting to go on her first date with Marco. They had a few classes together throughout freshman year and over the course of the summer, had hung out at a couple parties with mutual friends. She smiled when her phone buzzed with a text from him. **[Hey, I'm on my way. Do I need to introduce myself to your parents?]**

**[Nah, they're not home. I just need to put The Scarlet Letter away. ...what kind of punctuation is supposed to go with that?]**

**[It's not important right now. I already did my project though, if you'd like some help?]**

**[Stop texting, silly and just drive safe.]**

When she received no further messages, she smiled and set the phone back in her pocket. A few minutes later, an old Ford pickup pulled in front and Marco hopped out; he smiled and adjusted dusted off his cargo shorts, saying, "Go ahead and put your book away. I've gotta put a towel down. This is my dad's work truck, so it's a little dusty."

Mina smiled and hopped down from her perch. "I'll be out in a sec!" She ducked into the house, setting the book on the side table before grabbing her purse and waving to the calico cat sitting on the carpet of the entryway. "Bye, Coby." As she strolled down the flagstone walkway, she waited until Marco had finished securing the towels. "What does your dad do?"

"Oh, he runs a concrete company. Family business. He drops the bags of concrete on himself from time to time, so it kinda gets everywhere." Marco grinned and blushed slightly, asking, "Would you like some help up?"

Shaking her head, the girl reached up and grabbed the handle, using her other hand on the seat to pull herself up. "I can handle myself. But thank you." Marco grinned and shut the door, running around to the other side and hopping in. As they drove, it was primarily quiet, save for the alternative station on the radio. Mina laughed at the commentary, turning up the volume slightly when they began announcing the line-up for the fall concert series. "Too bad we aren't older. A lot of these shows are twenty-one and over."

Marco said, "Well, there's a show in a couple weeks- two days after school starts. It's open to all ages. And my dad offered to buy me some tickets in case any of my friends wanted to go."

"Really? That'd be so cool! My parents would definitely wanna meet you if we go to a concert though."

With a grin, the dark-haired boy laughed, "I can behave myself long enough to convince your parents I'm trustworthy."

Mina smirked. "I'm worse than you are. It's me who'll have to put on an act for your parents. Don't want them thinking I'm gonna drag their angel boy off to the depths of teenage destruction right off the bat, y'know?" They laughed as Marco pulled into a parking spot at the zoo and walked up to admissions. As he paid, Mina waited off to the side and smiled as he held up arm bands. "Where to first?"

"There's a brand new penguin exhibit. It's in the main area, before you branch off to the Africa, Asia and Australia sections."

"Oh, penguins are so cute. Let's go!" They headed off, looking over the pamphlet and deciding where they wanted to go as a priority. Walking into the penguin enclosure, Mina shivered. "Wow. They keep it really cold in here." They stood and watched as one of the caretakers fed the penguins, laughing as a couple leaped into the water for a game of chase.

Marco, while Mina had stepped outside to check her phone, bought a little penguin plush toy and hid it in his pocket. As they walked off to the Asia section, marveling at the various primates and the two tigers that their zoo had acquired, he pulled the toy out and handed it to his date. "Here. I saw you looking at them and I thought I'd surprise you."

Mina blushed slightly and kissed the little plush on the head, dropping it into her purse and taking Marco's hand. "Thank you so much. I love it and it's so cute."

They continued their trek into the Australia section. After they had walked around and seen the kangaroos, the pair stopped for ice cream and sat down for a breather. Marco sat on one side of the picnic table while Mina sat on the other. As he spooned another mouthful of the treat into his mouth, he noticed his date grinning at the plush again. "Do you really like it that much?"

"Yes, actually. And besides, I took a pic and sent it to Christa. She's literally freaking out right now. She thinks you and I are cute together."

"Well," Marco began, "I do think you're probably the prettiest girl in our class. Christa is really cute and all but she's not my type."

"I think you might be one of the few people that Christa's upperclassman girlfriend wouldn't mind." Mina hummed softly.

"Maybe. She is my cousin, so it's a little debatable sometimes." He grinned and held up a picture on his phone, showing him and Ymir in front of a sign for the family reunion. They were both pulling a disgusted face, as if they couldn't wait to be away from one another. "She's all right. Our family gives her trouble though. The older members are a bit conservative and didn't approve when she came out."

Mina giggled, her cheeks flushing again. "Oh my gosh, I had no idea you guys were cousins. What was she like as a kid?"

"Total brat." He paused and laughed. "Oh, wait, she's still like that." Marco grinned and put his phone away, shoving it into his pocket. "But seriously. Ymir is really into Christa and will do anything for her. So I'm totally cool with it."

"Yeah. I've never seen Christa so happy. It's really great." She stood, tossing her empty cup into the trash and held out her hand. "Ready to go see the rest?" Marco took her hand and threw his trash away as well, smiling as they circled the Africa section and came back to the middle where the penguins and other attractions for children were. Mina pointed to the camel rides and said, "I used to go for camel rides when I was little!" They went and watched as a couple of little kids rode on one of the camels and the keeper prepared the next one. A third camel, off to the side, got close and leaned over the fence to sniff at Marco.

Marco leaned back, his eyes wide from shock. "Uhm-" He jumped when he felt something tugging on his hair and he shouted, "_It's eating my hair!_' One of the keepers rushed over, getting the camel to back away and apologized profusely to the terrified teen. He glanced at Mina who, for all intents and purposes, was snorting with the effort to not laugh. "I'm so glad you find humor in my misfortune."

She finally broke down and giggled so hard that she was breathless; Marco sighed, smiled softly and escorted the girl to a bench so that she could sit down and recover. "I'm so sorry but that was quite possibly the funniest thing I've ever seen. The look on your face was perfect." She fell over, resting her head on his lap and smiling contently. "I've had so much fun today."

He blushed slightly, reaching over her shoulder to link his fingers with Mina's. "I have too." He looked at his watch and whistled, "Wow, we've been here for five hours." His freckled cheeks were lightly burnt but it was soon going to deepen his tan. Leaning over slightly, he asked, "Want me to take you home?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Wanna stop and get a burger on the way though? I'm hungry."

Marco pouted, "No, I think I've had enough of food for today. Especially with my hair being mistaken for it."

They laughed together as they walked out to the truck, hand-in-hand. This time, Mina graciously accepted the help to get up in the seat and they held hands as they drove through a burger joint to get food for Mina. As she ate, she watched Marco as he sang along to the radio and drummed his hands on the steering wheel. Eventually, they pulled up in front of her house and He got out to walk her to the door. On her front porch, he faced her and waited. Mina blushed and said, "Today was awesome, Marco. I had a lot of fun."

He grinned. "I did too. Uh, do you wanna go to the movies later this week?"

"Already taking me on another date? My, you are anxious, aren't you?" She grinned coyly at him and giggled as he blushed a brighter red. "The movies sound great. Text me later, all right?"

As Mina went to open the door, Marco bent his head to kiss her cheek and said, "Y-yeah, all right!" With that, he dashed off the porch and got in his truck, waving as he pulled away.

Mina grinned but paused when her phone buzzed after he had disappeared from sight. It simply read: **[I already miss you :) good night]** She smiled, sent a text back and went inside.


End file.
